The Wheeled cart: AKA a backpack or game cart

From reading the threads here I realize many of you have very few outdoorsmen skills. Only a small handful of you know how to hunt and fish, how to pack into the back country and how to pack out, not just for yourself but your friends and family as well.

Many of those truly wild places do not allow motorized vehicles and those that do, the back trails are just too rough for all but a stout ATV. So what is an enterprising outdoorsman(survivalist) to do???
Why he builds or buys himself a cart!

Below are just two examples of a wheeled back country cart… note the neck straps… they help take the weight off your lower arms, leaving your hands free to guide rather than strain… keeps you from dumping your load if your hand slips too…. These two are homebuilt…
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b9f356f5d501.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/adbb366c5cda.jpg[/atsimg]


Store bought carts come in many styles… just be careful as some of them use cheap and flimsy parts…
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/65574aef8d9f.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a906dcf1b69b.jpg[/atsimg]

Of course if you’re a lazy old fat man such as myself you can build a cart that’s towable with your well used ATV…
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/59243ce921bd.jpg[/atsimg]
and if you subscribe to the bigger is better theory and need to haul a moose out of the back country
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/bd5940ff59f6.jpg[/atsimg]

See you can pack more than you thought you could… if you add a wheeled cart to your list of must haves
Here's a web site that goes more into cart types and use

Now if your going to buy rather than build there are things you should ask...

Strength & Capacity –

(1) Frame Strength & Capacity. Are both the strength and capacity of the cart sufficient to accommodate the animals (or portions) you hope to retrieve?
(2) Wheel Strength. Is the wheel strength sufficient to support both the animal and the cart?
(3) Adequate Braking. If you anticipate needing the safety and control of a braking system, do these brakes have the strength to do the job?


Ease of Transport –

(4) Balance the Load. Is all, or substantially all the load balanced above the wheel(s) so that you avoid lifting and carrying too much?
(5) Hard to Balance. Is the load a problem to balance?
(6) Mobility. Does the cart design and wheel(s) allow for the mobility you might need to travel through the terrain in which you will be hunting?
(7) Side hill Tipping. Does a slope or side hill cause the cart to tip so as to risk dumping the load?
(8) Clearance. Does the cart design and wheel diameter provide sufficient clearance in such terrain?
(9) Smooth Rolling. Is the wheel diameter of sufficient size to allow the cart to roll more smoothly, with fewer hang ups, and with less rolling resistance over such terrain.
(10) Effective Helper Input. Does the cart have rigid handles and otherwise allow for effective assistance from hunting partners?
(11) Efficient Energy Use. Looseness, bending and sagging results in the dissipation of energy which in turn makes it far more difficult to handle any game and almost impossible to handle larger game. Does the design and construction of the cart avoid this and maintain needed strength and rigidity?
(12) Easy Loading. Can the game animal be easily loaded on the cart and from there onto the pickup?


Other Considerations –

(13) Break Down. Does the cart break down for storage and/or transport without loss of strength and rigidity?
(14) Single or Multiple User. Can the cart be used by both a single user and by two or more users?
(15) Use for both large and smaller game. Is the cart big enough and strong enough for large game? Is it too cumbersome or unwieldy for smaller game? Will it handle both comfortably?
(16) Reliability. What is the cart's reputation for reliability? Have you heard of it collapsing or otherwise failing when called upon?

I'll also add, can you make repairs yourself????

I will add I do not like the dolly style of Game Carts... they tend to bounce against your back or legs... the handles are too short making you shuck them in to close to your body...

well that's it for today... Happy carting all

reply to post by DaddyBare


These carts and their variants are very useful tools!

For the bike
www.bobgear.com...

Gotta pack the kids into no mans land
www.chariotcarriers.com...

Good information here but I gave up ATVs after watching my brother flip face first going down a mountain in Colorado. He had too much weight on the front.
Me, I flipped mine sideways trying to get off to stop him from going over. Needless to say it wasn't a very good day for either of us.
Those travois with wheels look to be a great idea though, I could see where you might easily move twice the weight you could in just a backpack. Definitely better for bringing home the venison than a stinking drag rope!
Much of the terrain I would choose to bug out to wouldn't allow the use of any of these but perhaps the single wheel variety.
People should pay close attention to the terrain they're scoping out for a bug out location before laying down money on any of these.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Ouch! Remember how bad the old 3 wheelers used to be. Lean Lean Lean and keep leaning. Friend of mine snapped his femur when one of those landed on his leg after flipping over in a turn.

reply to post by Asktheanimals

there is another option... a tandum wheel set up
like this one "Trans-Port-RRR! "


Or this one the "Neet Kart"

I have this one for my mt bike. It carries 66 pounds I have had 72 loaded without problems. Trailer hitch arm can move up so it is used as a wheeled cart. Its folded flat and stored next to the INCB bag and the food pack that goes to the bike set up. Much lighter weight than the deer carts though.

www.croozerdesigns.com...

reply to post by DaddyBare

loved the photos s and f. i am wondering if anyone out there has modded a shopping trolley for the urban survivalist. bigger wheels for the 'over rough ground evasion', gull wind sides for quick shelter from the rain.
f

reply to post by DaddyBare


I'll dig it out this week....(gota go through my storage)....they make a small frame...wheel "20" BMX wheel/tire..

That mounts by using rachet straps...or velcro...to use on canoe/kayaks...my lil 10' kayak makes a great cart...

Pics when my lazy bum digs it out.....

Originally posted by Doc Holiday
reply to post by DaddyBare

 

I'll dig it out this week....(gota go through my storage)....they make a small frame...wheel "20" BMX wheel/tire..

That mounts by using rachet straps...or velcro...to use on canoe/kayaks...my lil 10' kayak makes a great cart...

Pics when my lazy bum digs it out.....

I think I know what you have...
The C-Tug
I have one I use to portage our Canoe

I will confess to having hauled a buck out of the woods using:

- A large heavy duty wheel barrow

- A red ryder wagon (assisted with one of those orange deer-tug straps)

-a cheap plastic-sheet style sled thingy (a quarter inch of snow on the ground)

The more I think of it, I never pulled any of those more than a 75 yards, and only the wheel barrow could be said to have worked.

reply to post by DaddyBare


This is the best deer cart I've heard of.



I think you're right about the majority of ATS members needing to get off the pavement and out of the smog a bit. I guess I'm glad my Dad is a "lazy old fat man" because he seems to have taught me well enough to be ahead of most of the pavement pounders. Nice 3-wheeler btw.

reply to post by Thestargateisreal


Fat yes... and maybe not really that lazy...
but I dont make things harder on myself than they need to be...
gotta have some energy to tell ghost stories around a campfire while we make some-ores, right?

reply to post by DaddyBare


Indeed. I was kidding actually, as I assume you were.

Thanks for those pics, gives me more idea's! The Neet Kart I had seen before,and I used the idea to build my own version a couple weeks ago. Used a heavy duty bmx I salvaged,along with parts from a previous regular game cart I built. Not sure how ell it'll work, so far I've pushed the wife around the lawn and moved a couple 5gal bucket s of paint! Moose/elk hunt starts Sept 10, hopefully put it to the test for real then!
I really like your travois idea, it looks almost exactly like what I had in mind to try building for myself on my mountain hikes. The only thing I was going to do differently was to try to use a good kidney belt or perhaps even my pack frame to let the cart handles rest on. This would transer the weight to my hips, which would be nice if I could od it. Also want to put a hand brake,like off a bicycle, on the wheel for downhill decents. I had some nice thick aluminum pipes set aside at work to use, and someone threw them out so I have to find more. If I can't make the kidney belt/pack frame work, I'll definitely use the neck strap idea, I hadn't thought of that.